A Letter to a Father (for Fathers)

Hello Joe!

Wow, it's been over a decade since we last saw you and your family. I guess the last time we saw all of you was our last day there at First Baptist. I realized how long it has been when I recently heard about your twins, Gabby and John, graduating from college! Please congratulate them for us.

I'm sure you must be a proud dad! I remember your extreme devotion to John's involvement in baseball. You shuffled him from town to town and tournament to tournament all through his childhood and teenage years. You sacrificed much in time and money to ensure his training and development; and I hear that it all paid off when John was named SEC player of the year and was drafted in the first round of the Major League draft. Wow!

I also recall how devoted you and your wife, Sharon, were to Gabby's education. You challenged her to excel in all of her subjects. I remember our conversations together about how weary you two were; Sharon from diligently tutoring and preparing Gabby two hours per night in her homework, and you from working that extra job to put back money for her college education. "It takes a lot of money to get through Med school" I remember you saying. Well, that too has paid off! I see that she got into that prestigious medical school and just graduated top of her class! Please tell "Dr. Gabby" we said hello!

I read the article in the paper about the two of them. They spoke very highly of both you and Sharon. They stated their sincere appreciation for the sacrifices that both of you made for their future. They even spoke of how you always made certain that at least twice a year the whole family got away together on an "adventure vacation". They knew those vacations were costly, but they treasured them. It is refreshing to hear about the great family-time y'all had together!

But Joe, I spoke with our mutual friend from First Baptist, Bob, yesterday (which is how I found out about your family news) and he shared that you guys no longer attended church there. He actually said that you told him y'all wanted to, but you were just too busy right now with everything else going on in your lives to be able to go faithfully. Joe, you've gone to extremes, at any cost, to ensure your children's future. You've practically given your life for the sake of your children's success! That is certainly to be admired... but to what extreme have you gone to bring Gabby and John up "in the training and admonition of the Lord"? At what cost have you taught them the Word of God that they may know Him in salvation, and love and serve Him in life? As a father, how diligent have you been to be a living model and example to them of what it means to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind"? How much sleep have you sacrificed for the purpose of praying and interceding for Gabby and John?

Joe, my friend, by diligently and tirelessly investing in your children's future careers, but neglecting their spiritual upbringing, you've done nothing more than help Gabby and John "gain the whole world and lose (their) own soul"! They applaud you now for preparing them for life in this world, but what will they one day say of your neglect in preparing them for the life to come? What will it really matter on judgment day that they both had fame and popularity, financial and material wealth, status and recognition? Oh, my friend, you are their father...............!

So reader..... are you Joe?
Ephesians 6:4

Do You Know So?

"I thank You that I can know that I know that I know that I'm saved!" These are the words that I remember a deacon praying many years ago when I was a teenager. He knew that genuine salvation of the Lord was not a "hope so, maybe so", but a "know so" salvation. The apostle John wrote the letter of 1 John so that his readers "may know that (they) have eternal life, and that (they) may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God" (1 John 5:13). Assurance of salvation and continued faithfulness are the fruit of the message of 1 John.

"Now by this we know that we know Him if we keep His commandments... whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him" (1 John 2:3-5) John gives numerous "tests" of salvation in his letter, one of which we find here. These verses reveal that a genuine believer is marked by a life of obedience. The word "keep" in that passage is in the present tense meaning continued, repeated obedience (an obedient lifestyle). The Christian life begins with an obedient response to the Lord Jesus' command to "repent and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15), and proceeds in continual and consistent obedience.

John, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, also says that "whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him." At the center of the believer's obedience is a heart of love for His Savior (John 14:21), therefore, he knows the Lord's commands, he loves His commands, and desires only to grow in his obedience to them. He doesn't want to be free from God's commandments, but to run freely in them (Psalm 119:32)!

As the genuine believer obeys the Word of God he is matured and changed by the Word of God; his mind is renewed and his walk is transformed! (Romans 12:2) A genuine faith produces visible fruit. Verse 6 reveals that this fruit is a Christ-like walk of obedience. "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked."

Many people make professions of faith and say "I know Him", but they live with a disregard for the commands of Scripture and are uncaringly disobedient to them. The Lord says clearly through the pen of the apostle John that they are liars and the truth is not in them! (1 John 2:4)

Are you lacking assurance of your salvation? Then take inventory of your heart and life and lay it against the message of God's word! Do you love the Lord's commands? Do you find joy in obeying them? Are you grieved and convicted when you disobey them? Are you growing in your obedience?

Assurance is gained not in a card that we signed, a prayer that we prayed, or a parent's affirmation, but in a changed life! A life made new by the power of God through the Word of God, evidenced by obedience! As one writer, Don Whitney, said - "The obedient life is a truly converted life!"

Thank You, Jesus, for providing a "know so" salvation!